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Intrigue in Damascus

Matt BrownUpdated
Wed Oct 30 09:05:00 EST 2013

The UN peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, is a very busy man. He's already done the rounds of capitals in the Middle East in a bid to re-launch peace talks in Geneva. But his visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus, was overshadowed by the news that Bashar al-Assad had sacked his deputy prime minister.

Transcript

TONY EASTLEY: The UN peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, is a very busy man. He's already done the rounds of capitals in the Middle East to try and re-launch peace talks in Geneva. But his visit to the Syrian capital Damascus was overshadowed by the news that Bashar al-Assad has sacked his deputy prime minister.

Here's Middle East correspondent Matt Brown.

MATT BROWN: This one day in the life of UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi cast a harsh light on the search for an answer to Syria's nightmare. His quest to cobble together a peace conference in Geneva next month seems almost impossible.

He started the day having to refute reports he'd said Syrian president Bashar al-Assad could contribute to a transition to a new Syria. That's a thorny issue given the main opposition group in exile, the Syrian National Coalition, demands Assad's resignation.

(Sound of Lakhdar Brahimi speaking)

"We are preparing for the Geneva conference and the Geneva conference is basically a meeting between Syrian parties and the Syrian parties are the ones who are going to set the terms of the transitional period and the post-transitional period," he said.

Then he met politicians who are members of what Bashar al-Assad calls the "patriotic opposition": those who've called for change but not joined the uprising. Unlike the Syrian National Coalition, they're still inside the tent, as it were. And after meeting Lakhdar Brahimi they were at pains to point out that difference.

(Sound of Ali Haidar speaking)

"It's not possible to unite the opposition. He has to find another way," the head of the Syrian National Party, Ali Haidar, said. "There is no doubt we will not go under the umbrella of the coalition because we differ with them completely."

That's perhaps not surprising, given that the likes of Ali Haidar are living comfortably in Damascus. But it does highlight the difficulty posed by the fact that the Syrian National Coalition is the one recognised by Bashar al-Assad's Arab enemies as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

But far more revealing news was to come.

(Sound of state TV report)

State TV's report on Lakhdar Brahimi's meeting with the deputy foreign minister was quickly trumped by the announcement that president Assad had sacked his deputy prime minister.

Qadri Jamil is a member of one of those opposition parties tolerated by the government but he'd been on an extraordinary trip to Geneva. He'd met with the former US ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, and reportedly tried to get US backing for him to be an opposition representative at the peace talks. He'd also been to see Russian officials in Moscow - obviously not the sort of venture that could be kept a secret.

But on state TV he was accused of leaving work "without prior permission" and undertaking "activities outside the nation without coordinating with the government". It's just a glimpse of the intrigues in the halls of power in Damascus.